This week it is time for Chapter 2 of Great Big Agile, An OS for Agile Leaders by Jeff Dalton. Chapter 2 begins Part 2 which is focused on the six Performance Circles. Leading is first. Jeff points out that this is the most important of the circles because an organization without strong leadership will not allow teams to self-organize. Without self-organization agile is not possible. This almost feels like a type mismatch, with strong leadership evoking command and control behaviors. That type of leadership is a reflection of weak leaders that lack a compelling vision. The big problem with leadership is that it is often localized, a charismatic executive or a strong middle manager here or there. Leadership and vision are required at all levels of an organization for agile to be more than just a tool for directing behavior. For example, a few years ago I worked with an organization where a department manager was helping his team to become self-organized. His peers and boss were, at best, ambivalent to his vision. In the short term, we were able to craft a bubble around his team and products which allowed the team to develop while spending time coaching the influencers around the team to shift their perspective and mindset. Coaching led to a better leadership mindset in the organization. We were able to tie the shift to improved throughput, quality, and stakeholder satisfaction.
The Leading Performance Circle consists of holons. They are:
- Enabling,
- Valuing,
- Visioning, and
- Engaging.
Individual holons include a set of actions, outcomes, ceremonies, and techniques. For example, Valuing has 11 outcomes that are organized into adopting-level outcomes, transforming-level outcomes, and mastering-level outcomes. The 11 outcomes in the Valuing holon are supported by a set of 5 actions. Ceremonies and techniques support each action. The ceremonies and techniques are defined in depth in chapters 8 through 72.
When I am asked to review or help resurrect a failed agile transformation, one of the areas that I generally find that is missed is a vision of the future. Organizations that do not have a firm grasp on what they want the future to look like wander aimlessly. Ask your stakeholders to tell the story of what it will be like when they achieve transformation. If you get blank stares or they have difficulty with the question it will be very difficult to sustain the investment in effort and thought. The visioning holon that is part of this Performance Circle is critical.
Once we can picture where we are going it is possible to anticipate, forecast, and be ready for impediments. Some impediments are well known and some will emerge; if each is a crisis your strength and reserve will be drained. Several years ago, I decided to wing a driving trip to New York. I loaded the car right after work and drove. Around 2 AM, on a long stretch of highway, I noticed that I needed gas. I could not find an open gas station. This was an impediment I could have, and should have, foreseen. In terms of agile change or transformation of an organization, many risks are predictable. Plan for the impediments that you can so you have the energy to deal with surprises.
Jeff points out that leading is the first Performance Circle and might be the most critical. I agree. What is worrisome is that executing on leadership is overlooked or delegated. Without leadership adopting agile in more than a single team becomes nearly impossible. Early in the agile revolution much of agile was pushed from the bottom up. Agile was a team-level event. We have progressed past this point, agile has become an organizational phenomenon. Most organizations are adopting agile from the top-down. This troubles many of the early adopters and pundits in the field. Perhaps early adopters were in a better position to organically adopt agile, whereas most of the middle and late adopters are much more apt to need formal top-down leadership to make change happen. The pattern we are seeing in agile is the same pattern I have observed in the past. The CMM, CMMI, Case, and the quality movement are examples of waves of change that have followed this pattern. At this point, Leadership is a make or break contributor to agile adoptions. Great Big Agile gets it right.
Remember, buy a copy and read along.
Previous weeks installments
Week 2: The API Is Broken – https://bit.ly/2JGpe7l
Week 1: Re-read Logistics and Front Matters – https://bit.ly/3mgz9P6
